1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a flat circuit body with terminals, which is made by connecting terminals, such as a piercing terminal, with a conductive area of a flexible flat circuit body, such as an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) and an FFC (Flexible Flat Cable).
2. Description of the Related Art
Various electronic apparatuses are installed in a car as a vehicle. In the car, a wiring harness is wired for transmitting electric power and control signals. The wiring harness includes a plurality of electric wires and a plurality of connectors. The electric wire has a conductive core wire and an insulation cover for covering the core wire, as a covered wire.
The connector has a pair of insulation connector housings to be fit to each other and conductive terminals received in respective housings. The terminal includes a wire connecting portion at one end thereof to be joined with an end of the electric wire for connecting electrically with the core wire and an electric contact portion at the other end thereof to be in contact with a mating terminal. The wiring harness transmits the control signals to the electronic apparatuses through connecting the connectors to each other.
At present time, the wiring harness is having more amount of wires according to increase of electronic apparatuses installed in the car. Therefore, flat circuit body, such as the FFC and the FPC, which is lighter and thinner than a usual used round wire and can be wired compactly in high density, is used in many cases as the electric wire.
For joining the terminal with the flat circuit body, a terminal pressure welding machine 204 shown in FIG. 9 is usually used. In the terminal pressure welding machine 204, by piling a terminal 102, in which a plurality of claws 124 projects in alternate positions thereof, on a flat circuit body 103 on a crimper 245, pressing the terminal 102 by an anvil 247 so as to make each claw 124 pierce in a conductive area 131 of the flat circuit body 103, and bending the claws piercing the conductive area 131 and a cover 132 of the flat circuit body 103 to face inwardly to each other, the terminal 102 is mounted on the flat circuit body 103. The flat circuit body 103, on which the terminal 102 is mounted as mentioned above (call the flat circuit body with terminals hereafter), is assembled as the aforesaid wiring harness by that the terminals are received in the connector housing.
However, the usual terminal pressure welding machine 204 shown in FIG. 9 deforms the flat circuit body 103 bent toward the crimper 204 when each claw 124 pierces in the flat circuit body 103, so that it is difficult to make securely the claw pierce in the conductive area 131 of the flat circuit body 103. A terminal pressure welding machine 104 (refer Patent Document 1), which intends to make the claws 124 pierce securely in the conductive area 131 of the flat circuit body 103 by separating a process of making the claw 124 pierce in the flat circuit body 103 and a process of bending the claw as shown in FIG. 10, is provided. Reference Patent 1 is Japan Patent Application Laid Open No. 2002-246091.
The terminal pressure welding machine 104 shown in FIG. 10 is provided with a bottom die 145, in which a piercing die 145A having a pair of grooves 152 to receive the claws 124 of the terminal 102 piecing in the flat circuit body 103 shown in FIG. 9 and a crimping die 145B having a recess 153 for bending the claws 124 piercing in the flat circuit body 103.
In a process of making the claw 124 pierce in the flat circuit body 103 in the aforesaid terminal pressure welding machine 104, by setting the piercing die 145A in a position to face an anvil 147, piling the flat circuit body 103 and the terminal 102 on the piercing die 145A, and pressing the terminal 102 by the anvil 147 to make the claw 124 piece in the conductive area of the flat circuit body 103, the claw 124 piecing the flat circuit body 103 is received in the groove 152 of the piecing die 145A. A surface 155, on which the flat circuit body 103 is piled between the pair of grooves of the piercing die 145A, supports the flat circuit body 103. Thereby, the flat circuit body 103 is prevented from deformation to be bent in the grooves 152. Therefore, the claw 124 can pierce securely in the conductive area 131 of the flat circuit body 103.
In a process of bending the claw 124 piercing in the flat circuit body 103 in the terminal pressure welding machine 104, by moving the bottom die 145 down in a direction of an arrow Y and moving the bottom die 145 horizontally in a direction of an arrow X for positioning the crimping die 145B to face a front end of the claw 124, the crimping die 145B is set in a position to face the claw 124 by moving the bottom die 145 upwardly in a direction opposite to the direction of arrow Y. Thereafter, by pressing the terminal 102 by the anvil 147, the claw 124 is bent along a curved surface of the recess 153 of the crimping die 145B, and the terminal 102 is mounted on the flat circuit body 103.